I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 4th of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start with Psalm 23:1 (Written by a shepherd): 

"The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want."

Then we go straight to Philippians 4:19:

"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

I believe that the Lord wants us to spend more time in solitude with Him this year and much more time in silence, listening to Him and spending time in His Presence. When you do that, you become a lot more observant. You become slower to speak and quicker to listen. God speaks to his children, often through nature. King David is possibly the greatest king that ever lived in Israel, next to our master, Jesus Christ.  

Where was his training ground? That's right, he was a shepherd! He spent hours on his own, with his sheep - where he wrote these beautiful Psalms and sang to the Lord on his harp. He spent time getting strong in the Lord - We must do the same to finish this race strongly. 

One of my uncles was a shepherd - Uncle Ronnie was very quiet and observant. He was a lovely man to be near. He gave a spirit of peace whenever you were in his presence. He was a chronic asthmatic and spent a lot of time in the hospital. As a result, he didn't have much schooling, so he became a shepherd. He wasn't physically strong, but he was one of the most sought-after shepherds in his area because of his incredible relationship with his sheepdogs. His sheepdogs were quite something to watch! They did all the work for him - Why was he in such a position? Because he spent time with his dogs and he spent time with his ship. As a result, he was an incredible stockman and very sought-after. He spent hours in the presence of these animals - This year, we need to spend more time with the Lord and less time running around. We need to sit in the presence of the Lord, and He will direct our paths. 

Jesus bless you, and have a wonderful day. Goodbye.